Black Widow
by Fuzzy Ears Fan
Summary: Nikki gets sent to Camp Green Lake to build her character, but what undergoes the most change is her heart. FINISHED!
1. Nikki

A/N: This is my first Holes fanfic, so be gentle. I always loved the book, so I thought I'd right a fic about it. So, here you go. Thoughts are in _italics_. Oh, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Holes, or any thing having to do with Holes. However, I do own Nikki.

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I was dragged into the courtroom by Officer Baker. My fate was to be decided by Judge Mavrick. I wasn't too worried.

"Your Honor, I have a juvenile delinquent here that needs dealing with." Baker said trying to sound smart. Truth is, no one in Okalahoma was smart, except me of course.

"What's your name?" the judge asked me.

"Name's Nikki." I answered.

"What's your last name Nikki?" he asked, this time getting annoyed.

"Don't have one." I replied.

"What do you mean you don't have one?" Mavrick asked again.

"Exactly what I said. I don't have a last name." I said.

"And how is it that you don't have a last name? Who are your parents?"

I started to laugh. I couldn't help it.

"I'd like to know. I never knew my dad, and my mom dumped me at the orphanage when I was a little over a year old." I replied. I could tell the judge was a little shocked.

"So the orphanage named you?" I laughed again.

"No. My mom attached a letter to me. All it said was "Her name's Nikki." So, that's why I don't have a last name."

This whole time Baker was staring at me. The next time Mavrick spoke, it was to him.

"What did she do?" he asked.

Baker stood up straight and answered, "I caught her stealing five cd's from a store. She ran when the alarm went off. I chased her into the street. All of a sudden she turns around and clocks me."

"She punched you?"

"Yessir."

"Is that how you got that black eye?"

"Yessir."

The judge chuckled, but continued.

"How old are you Nikki?"

"Fourteen." I said.

He laughed again but told Baker to keep going.

"After punching me, she kicked me in the nose." This time the judge laughed for a while.

"She broke it I see."

"Yessir. She ran away after that, and I was unable to chase after her. Then today I saw her again. This time I had my partner with me, and together we were able to get her." he finished.

"You mean to tell me that a fourteen year old girl gave a grown, trained policeman a black eye and a broken nose all by herself, barehanded?" He asked while laughing.

Baker dropped his head and nodded. I couldn't hold it in anymore, so I burst out laughing. Judge Mavrick was making fun of Baker, and rightfully so. After all, I did mess him up pretty good. When the judge had calmed down he went back into business mode.

"You've committed serious crimes. Theft, and striking an officer. Now, I could send you to jail, but there's an opening at a juvenile correctional camp. Which do you prefer?"

I shook my head. This guy really was dumb.

"Camp, duh!"

"Alright then, twenty-four months to be served at Camp Green Lake."

Officer Baker started to drag me back out of the courtroom when Judge Mavrick called to him.

"Officer, you may want to brush up on your self-defense."

I burst out laughing.

"Come on!" Baker growled at me as he dragged me back out to his car. On the ride back to the station I kept wondering what Camp Green Lake would be like.

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The next day I was put on a bus with an armed guard. My destination was Camp Green Lake.

"You must have lost a bet or something to have to escort me." I said to the guard. He didn't even look up.

"_This is gonna be a long ride."_

Turns out, I was wrong. It was a very long ride. When we finally got there I couldn't feel my legs. I about fell over getting off the bus. To make things worse, it was like 120 degrees. I did a 360, and saw the same thing all around me. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Well, no, that's not right. There was dirt. Lots of dirt. Holes too. There were a lot of those too.

"Hey! This way!" the guard barked at me.

"Okay, okay. Geez, no need to be rude about it." I said.

I was led into an office. A big guy was sitting behind a desk spitting sunflower seed shells.

"Got another one for ya." the guard said.

"This must be a bad week. Two in the same one." the guy said.

The guard handed him what could only be my file.

"Nikki huh. Nikki what?"

The guard shook his head.

"She aint got a last name." he said.

"Whatever. Thanks Chuck." the guy said to the guard.

"Welcome Mr. Sir."

The guard left and I was left with this guy who was called Mr. Sir.

"Well, my name's Mr. Sir."

"Well, thanks for informing me about the obvious." I said.

Mr. Sir stood up and put both hands on his desk.

"Where you just being smart with me?"

"You're dumber than I thought if you had to ask." I said.

"That's it! I'll have no more of your mouth! Now follow me, and you'd better not say nothing."

I followed Mr. Sir out of his office to another building. There were boots and orange jumpsuits inside. He threw a pair of boots on the ground and shoved two jumpsuits into my arms.

"You get two sets of clothes. One for work and one for resting. After three days your resting clothes become your work clothes, and your work clothes get washed. Every day you will dig a hole that is as wide and as deep as the length of the shovel you dug it with."

"You make us dig holes! What's that gonna do!"

Mr. Sir got in my face and said, "It helps you build character, that's what it does. Now, over there are the showers and there's where you can fill your canteen."

As he said this he pointed to a couple of stalls that were the showers and a couple of water spigots. He then took a plastic jug down off a shelf and threw it next to my boots. It had a rope tied around its handle.

"Now get changed." Mr. Sir said while walking out and slamming the door.

I took off my clothes and changed.

"This is gonna be a long two years." I said to myself.

When I was done changing I picked up my canteen and walked outside. Waiting for me was a short guy wearing a big hat and a lot of sunscreen on his nose.

"I'm Dr. Pendanski! I'll be your counselor. You'll be in D-tent. I trust that Mr. Sir showed you everything. Just in case he didn't, that's the mess hall and that's the rec room. Those are the…."

"He showed me the showers and the water spigot." I said.

"Oh, great!" he replied.

"D-tent? Is that the girls' tent?" I asked.

Dr. Pendanski laughed.

"You're the first girl we've ever had here." he said.

"Great." I said as we walked into what I assumed was D-tent.

"Yo mom! What's this!" a large black boy said as we entered.

"This, Theodore, is Nikki." he answered patting my back.

"Hey! Hands off!" I said getting ooooo's from the guys.

"But mom, she's a girl." Theodore said.

"Yes she is. And I expect you boys to treat her as such. Now, I have to go, but the boys will help you get settled."

He left, and I just stood there.

"You'll sleep there." Theodore said pointing to a cot.

"Fine." I replied while sitting down. Just then another boy came stumbling in and collapsed on his cot.

"Hey Stanley! Rough second day?" a boy with glasses said to the other guy.

The one name Stanley nodded while sitting up.

"Stanley, this is Nikki. She landed herself here too." glasses boy said again.

"Hey." Stanley said to me. I just nodded. Suddenly a bell rang and everyone got up.

"Nikki, dinner time." glasses boy informed me.

I got up and was about to leave when I noticed that Stanley hadn't gotten up.

"Hey, you comin?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah." he said as he followed me out of the tent.

"_I gotta find out his story."_


	2. The Guys

A/N: Okay, well, there's not much to say, so, here's the new chapter! Don't forget to review.

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I walked through the line absolutely disgusted. Everything looked like it had been thrown up, and then sat for a week before they decided to serve it to us. The only thing that looked edible was the bread.

"Note to self, never eat this stuff." I whispered.

I noticed that everyone was staring at me as I went through the line. I didn't really know what to think about that.

"Nikki! Over here!" I heard someone yell. I looked and saw it was a guy with crazy blonde hair. I went over and sat down at his table. Glasses boy and Theodore were sitting there too. Stanley came and sat down with us.

"What'd I tell ya Stanley. Second hole's the hardest." glasses boy said while stuffing bread into his mouth.

I started to pick mine up when he reached across the table and stopped me.

"You didn't dig today, so why not giving that bread to someone who did?" I pushed his hand away.

"I'll tell you why not. Cause I want it." I told him. Once again, everyone ooooo'd. Stanley started chuckling.

"Okay, fine." glasses boy said going back to his meal.

"So, what're the rest of your names?" I asked no one in particular. Theodore answered first.

"I'm Armpit. That's X-Ray, Squid, ZigZag, Magnet, Zero, and Stanley."

"Interesting. How come Stanley doesn't have a nickname?"

X-Ray answered, "The same reason you don't. He hasn't earned it yet."

"Makes sense." I said.

"What're you here for?" ZigZag, or crazy hair asked.

"For stealing cd's and for giving a cop a black eye and a broken nose." I answered. All the guys laughed.

"You serious?" the boy named Squid asked. I nodded and finished my bread.

"Well, I guess you can handle yourself then." Armpit said.

"You bet I can. Now, where do I put my tray?" They all pointed to a rack on the opposite wall.

As I walked away I heard ZigZag say, "She seems nice."

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I was lying on my cot when I heard someone enter the tent. I sat up to see that it was Stanley.

"Oh, hey." I said.

"Hi." he said sitting down on his cot. He was looking at his palms.

"What's wrong?" I asked walking over and sitting beside him. I could see him stiffen.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to see your hands."

He showed them to me, and I gasped.

"Ouch. How'd you do that?"

He looked at me and said, "Diggin holes. I haven't gotten used to it yet."

I smiled. It was obvious he was nervous.

"Why're you so nervous? We're just talking." He blushed.

"I've never really talked to a girl, other than my mom. I'm not real good with them I guess."

I couldn't help but laugh. It was just too cute.

"You've never talked to a girl and you're what, fifteen?" He nodded. "Well, I'm honored that I'm the first girl you've really talked to." This time he laughed with me.

"So, what'd you do to end up here?" I asked.

"I stole a pair of Sweetfeet's shoes." My jaw dropped.

"No! Really?" He nodded again.

"How'd you do it?" I couldn't help but ask.

"The just fell from the sky." I fell backward I was laughing so hard. He started to laugh too. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

"Okay, if you say so."

We continued talking for a long time. He told me about his family and his school. About the day the shoes landed on his head. I couldn't help but laugh when he said that his dad was trying to find a cure for foot odor. I told him about Okalahoma and more about my crime. He laughed when I mentioned that the judge was making fun of the cop I clobbered. We must have been talking for two hours when everyone else started coming back.

"Hey Stanley, watch yourself around her. She might break your dick." ZigZag said when he noticed we were sitting together on his cot. I stood up and everyone stopped laughing.

"Would you like me to break yours first? I could use the practice." The color drained from his face and he shook his head.

"That's what I thought."

I went and sat down on my cot. No one said anything for the rest of the night, but I can't say I minded.

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I was walking. Dust was blowing everywhere. It was so thick that I could barely see.

"Hello! Someone help me!" I yelled.

Then I saw something. It took me a few minutes to realize what it was. It was a boy in a dirty orange jumpsuit and a red hat.

"Stanley?" I called. No answer.

As the boy walked closer I saw that it, in fact, was Stanley. He was walked up to me and put his hands on my waist. That made me gasp, but I didn't push him away. I didn't mind his touch.

"Did you say that you needed help?" he asked. I nodded.

He looked right into my eyes and whispered, "I can help you." A shiver went up my spine. He was just about to kiss me when, I woke up. I was breathing hard as I sat up in bed. It took me a couple of minutes to realize where I was.

"Oh, right. I'm in hell." I whispered.

"It's not as bad as you might think." I heard someone say. Once my eyes adjusted I could see that Stanley was sitting up in bed too.

"What're you doing up?" I asked.

"I was thinking, and then I heard that you were having a nightmare."

"I wasn't having a nightmare, just a dream." He chuckled.

"Didn't sound like it was a very happy dream."

"It just surprised me, that's all." I said. Suddenly a bell sounded.

"Well, now it's time for you to see what hell really is." Stanley said while getting up. The rest of the guys were getting up too.

"_I guess I will."_


	3. Memories

A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed. I'm grateful. Well, here's another chapter. Hope you like!

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I stood up and stretched while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Everyone left, everyone except for Stanley that is. When I was ready he held open the tent flap for me.

"You didn't have to do that, but thanks."

"My mom told me to always hold doors for ladies." he said.

"Well, that's true, but I'm no lady."

"You look like one to me." he said smiling.

"You're something else ya know." I said laughing.

I followed him to where everyone was picking up breakfast, if you could call it that. It was actually a tortilla covered with a substitute for honey. After "breakfast" Stanley and I got in line. We were heading to a shed with the word "Library" over it. I guessed it was where they kept the shovels.

"If you get up here and there's a shovel with red tape around the handle, don't take it." Stanley whispered to me.

"Why not?"

"Cause that's X-Ray's shovel.

"What's makes it his shovel?" Stanley just looked at me.

"It's shorter than all the rest. Shorter the shovel, smaller the hole."

"Good point. Who died and made him king?" I asked while grabbing a shovel.

"I think he's self appointed. Plus, I think he's been here the longest."

"Oh. So where do we dig our holes?" I asked

"Wherever you can find a spot that's close to our group."

"Easy enough." Stanley laughed.

"Just wait till you get out there."

We walked to where everyone else from our tent was at. I chose a spot between Magnet and Stanley.

"_Here's to a million more of these."_ I thought as I lifted a shovel-full of dirt and tossed it.

The day wore on and on. I was hotter than I could ever remember being. My hands felt like they had been butchered.

"You weren't kidding about this being hell." Stanley shook his head.

"It gets easier after a while. Your hands and arms get used to it." Magnet said.

I heard a rumbling sound and looked to see where it was coming from. Everyone started climbing out of their holes. I took that to mean that we were getting a break.

"That's the water truck." Stanley said.

"Oh good. I'm out." I said holding up my empty canteen.

I walked up and got in line. X-Ray pushed me and I fell to the ground.

"Hey!" I yelled.

"You're at the back." was all he said before getting in front.

Stanley helped me up and we both walked to the back of the line.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"Everyone has their place. Yours is back here."

"He didn't have to push. I'm in no condition to fight back like this." I said holding up my hands.

"I wouldn't advise fighting anyway."

"I won't, as long as I'm not provoked."

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I dragged my shovel back to camp. It was almost sunset, and it wasn't any cooler. My hands were two big blood stains. I couldn't have picked up a spoon if I tried. I dropped my shovel in front of the Library and slowly made my way back to the tent. I stumbled in and fell on my cot.

"So how'd it go?"

I about jumped out of my skin! Stanley must have noticed, because he burst out laughing.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"I wasn't scared, just surprised." I said.

"Okay, sure. So how'd it go?"

"Ugg! Horrible. My hands are gonna be nothing but scabs." I groaned.

"Let me see." he said while getting up and walking over to me.

I held out my hands and he gently touched my wounds. I suddenly remembered that I had done the same thing to him the other day.

"Oww!" I yelled.

"Sorry! That one must really hurt."

"Yeah, it does." I said.

"Why don't you like people to touch you?"

"What? I don't….."

"Yes you do. First Pendanski, then X-Ray. How come?"

"Because, the only time I would get touched at the orphanage, is when they would hit me. I hated it. I hated them. I hated my mom for leaving me there. No one's ever cared about me, so I've never cared about anyone." I whispered.

"They hit you?" I nodded.

"I'm sorry. I….."

"Don't worry about it! I'm going to take a shower!" I yelled as I pushed him away and grabbed my clothes.

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I stood in the shower letting the cold water run over my aching body.

"_Why'd he have to ask that? Why'd I have to answer? I swore when I ran away that I would forget it, forget the nights I cried myself to sleep. It was their job to watch the little kids! Just cause I was the oldest doesn't mean that I had to be responsible for them! Just because they did something wrong doesn't mean they had to hit me! I always got punished cause of them! I'm only fourteen! It's not fair!"_

When the water shut off I fell to the floor. All the pain came flooding back. All the times they slapped me. All the times they whipped me. All the times they kicked me. With the pain came the hate. I felt the scars on my back from where they whipped me.

"I'll never forgive you." I whispered.

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I walked back into the tent to find it empty. I laid down on my cot and closed my eyes. I listened to the noise coming from the rec room and from the other tents. I listened to all the guys laughing and talking and having a good time.

"_I wish I had some ear plugs."_

I could feel sleep calling me, and eventually I gave in. Anything to escape.


	4. Nicknames

A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed! It means a lot to me that people actually do like my stuff. Well, enough talk. Here's the new chapter!

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The next morning I woke up to that damn bell. I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds. When I thought everyone had left the tent I finally sat up. I groaned when I saw that Stanley was still there.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" he asked.

"No, I'm kinda sleeping."

"Well you do."

"And what did I say?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Something about how you had already made breakfast, then you said "ouch". That was all."

"Oh. Well, it's not important." I said standing up.

"Do you mind?" I asked when he didn't leave.

He blushed and said, "Oh, yeah, sorry." I just shook my head.

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The hole digging went painfully bad. Literally. I really thought that chopping my hands off would hurt less than what I was feeling now. I went back to the tent when I was finally done. I grabbed my other clothes and walked toward the showers. That's when I noticed that Stanley was taking a shower.

"_Great."_

"Hey." he said as I walked up.

"Hey."

We stayed silent for a minute or so. His water shut off, but he didn't look like he was going to leave.

"Nikki, are you okay?" I looked at him over the barrier.

"Yes. Why?"

"You just seem unusually quiet."

"I've just been reminded of some bad memories."

"Well, you know I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. You can trust me." With that he wrapped up in his towel and left. Against my better judgment, I smiled.

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After my shower I walked back to the tent. Somehow I knew he'd be there. Sure enough, there he was sitting on his cot.

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked. He nodded.

"Tell me the bad memories."

I sat down beside him and sighed.

"I was in the orphanage since I was a baby. When I got a little older they put me in charge of the little kids. I had to keep them quiet and I had to make sure they didn't do anything wrong. When they did, I got punished. They would hit me, kick me, push me down stairs, whip me."

"They whipped you!" I lifted the back of my shirt and showed him the scars on my back.

"I finally ran away. I was on the street for almost a week when I got caught. Next thing I know I'm on a bus headed here."

He looked at the ground and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know people did that. I don't know how people can do that. I knew it happened to adults, but I didn't know it happened to kids."

"Well it does. It happens mostly to kids. I'll never forgive them."

"Maybe you should forgive yourself." he whispered.

"What?"

"I think you should forgive yourself. I bet you keep telling yourself that you could have stopped it, but I doubt you could have. I bet you keep telling yourself that you should have gotten out sooner, but you had no other place to go. So the first thing you have to do before you can move on, is forgive yourself." After he made his speech he left.

"_How does he know? How could he know? How does he always know?"_

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I decided that I would check out the rec room. I hadn't been there yet and I'd been here for, who knows how long. A couple days, a couple weeks. Time really didn't exist here. I walked into a room where everything was old, and or broken. There was a torn up couch in front of a busted TV. There was a table with a couple of beat up chairs around it in the center of the room, and on the other side was a worn out pool table. Everyone from my tent was here, along with a lot of guys I didn't know. As soon as I walked in a fight started. A big guy with longish dirty blonde hair pushed someone. I took a closer look, and saw it was Stanley!

"_This is weird."_

They kept pushing until the rest of my tent came and helped out. I just stood in the doorway. When it was over they all crowded around the pool table. I decided to join them.

"Did you see the Caveman back there?"

"No one messes with the Caveman."

"I don't want to mess with anyone." Stanley said. I heard the dinner bell.

"Come on Caveman." X-Ray said patting Stanley on the back.

"What? I'm Caveman?" I walked up behind him and said, "Looks like it." He had the biggest smile on his face.

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Now that Stanley was Caveman the guys treated him better. Now he was one of them. In line at the water truck he got moved up in front of Zero. He was also digging a lot faster. I guess I was too, and I finished a lot earlier than usual. My hands were used to it by now, so there was no pain at the end of the day. One day I walked into the tent and found Stanley and Zero talking. It hadn't hit me until right then, but I'd never heard Zero talk before. They were talking about a letter Stanley had. I tried not to listen in.

"Hey Caveman. Hey Zero." I said.

"Hey Nikki!" Stanley said as he smiled.

"Hey." Zero said.

That was a surprise. I could understand Zero talking to Stanley. He was easy to talk to, but I didn't think I was anywhere close to that. I left as soon as I grabbed my change of clothes. They just continued talking.

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Stanley and Zero kept talking. They would sit in the rec room and talk, and they would talk in the tent, and they would talk while digging. Then one day I walked in on them talking, only it wasn't talking. Stanley seemed to be teaching Zero letters and how to write them.

"_I'll ask him about it later."_

I never got a chance to, and it kind of slipped my mind. Then, the next day something really surprised me. Zero was helping Stanley dig his hole! I could tell everyone else noticed too, and they didn't seem too happy about it.

"I'll defiantly ask him about this." I whispered.

I found Stanley after I finished digging.

"Hey Caveman, can I talk to you?"

"Sure. What's goin on?" he asked.

"What's with Zero helping you dig your hole?"

"I'm teaching him how to read and write. In return, he's helping me dig."

"Oh. I didn't know he couldn't read." I said feeling really stupid.

"Well, he's learning. So how've you been?"

"I've been okay. You?" I asked.

"I've been great. Sorry we haven't talked in a while."

"It's okay. You've been doing more important stuff."

"Well, if you ever want to talk, just tell me. I miss our conversations." he said and I thought I saw him blush.

"I will. I'll see you later." I said.

"Yeah, okay."

I got up and walked toward the rec room.

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When I got there I went inside and sat down at the table. I picked up a deck of cards and started to shuffle them. A guy with red hair sat down that I didn't know.

"Hey babe. What'cha doin?" he asked.

"Nothing. And don't call me babe." I said not even looking up.

"Okay, sweetheart." he said putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Back off if you don't want to get hurt." He laughed.

"You won't hurt me." I grabbed his arm and slammed it on the table. Then I pulled his hand back as far as it would go.

"You wanna bet?" I asked. All the guys from my tent came over.

"Was he bothering you?" ZigZag asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." I said. The red-headed guy looked around. I let him go and he left.

"Don't mess with Black Widow again, or she really will hurt you." X-Ray said as the guy walked off. I looked up at him.

"Black Widow?"

"Yeah." They all went back to what they were doing.

"_So I have a nickname now."_


	5. The Warden

A/N: There are no excuses for my lateness! I'm sooo terribly sorry! I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me, seeing as how I'm giving you guys two chapters this time. I'm sooo sorry for being this late!

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That night I lay awake in bed and let my thoughts consume me. I thought about my mom and why she would have abandoned me. I thought about the people in the orphanage and why they abused me, but mostly I thought about me.

"_Why am I like this? Why do I hide behind these walls I've built? Why can't I let anyone in? I know why, it's because I'm scared. I'm afraid of the world and everyone in it. I think they're all the same, and I think they're all gonna hurt me."_

I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow.

"_They're not going to hurt me. It's time to take down the walls. Stanley was right. I have to forgive myself before I can move on. So, here's to forgiveness."_

I let sleep take me away feeling, for the first time, free.

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I was in a field. I could feel the sun warm my face, and the grass tickle my ankles as it swayed in the wind. I could see for miles, and there was nothing but rolling, open field. Without thinking, I began to run. As I gained speed I felt as if I was leaving behind all my pain and hate. It was the best feeling! It was as if I had grown wings and flown away. I could feel it fall away from me, and as it fell I felt lighter. When the last of it fell away, I stopped and fell backward.

"I'm free!" I screamed as I rolled in the grass. Someone laid down beside me. I didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Stanley, you were right." I said as I turned to face him.

"I'm glad." he said.

He smiled and propped himself up on one elbow so that he was facing me. I moved closer to him without realizing it. He stroked my cheek and whispered, "You're even more beautiful when you're happy." For the first time in my life, I blushed. He moved closer to me. We were only inches apart.

"Stanley……I……I think…" He put his finger on my lips to quiet me.

"I know."

Then he kissed me. It was like lightning had hit me. I could see feel sparks and shivers went down my spine. Everything else disappeared. Then I felt someone shake me. Reality hit me like a wreaking ball.

"Time to get up Black Widow." Magnet said shaking me again.

"Damn!" I whispered opening my eyes.

"_I knew it was too good to be true."_

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I followed everyone out and grabbed breakfast. Then it was out to the lake again. I was walking behind Stanley when I noticed that he had a really nice ass.

"_Whoa! Did I just think that? Yeah, yeah I did."_

I laughed and he stopped. I almost ran into him, which wouldn't have been so bad.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"What? Oh, nothing." I answered. He smiled and walked beside me the rest of the way.



It was lunchtime and everyone was eating. Stanley took his canteen and dumped a little bit of water on his head. I couldn't help but stare as the water trickled down his face. When I noticed that I was staring, I looked into my hole.

"Hey, what's that?" I heard Squid say. Everyone crowded around Stanley's hole.

"It looks like a bullet casing." Magnet said.

"No, it's too narrow." ZigZag told him.

Stanley turned it over in his fingers. It was a golden tube. One end of it was open, and the other end was closed. Stanley scraped some dirt off of the closed end.

"Hey look! See that? It's a heart with KB inside." he announced.

"Let me see that!" X-Ray said as he took it from Stanley.

"Well, I'll show it to Mom. Who knows, I might get the rest of the day off." he said.

"What! You're hole's almost dug!" Stanley protested.

"So?"

"So, so why don't you wait. Show it to Mom in the morning. That way you'll get the whole day off."

"Good thinking Caveman. I'll do that."

With that decided everyone returned to their holes. I stayed quiet, but I was yelling at X-Ray in my mind. This just wasn't fair.



The next morning Stanley tried to talk to X-Ray about the tube, but X-Ray yelled at him. I tried to tell Stanley that X-Ray was being a jerk, but he didn't want to talk. Out on the lake things were normal, until Mom came with the water truck. We all got our canteens filled and X-Ray didn't mention the gold tube. Just when Mom was about to leave, X-Ray yelled from his hole, "Mom! I think I found something!" He walked over and took the tube from X-Ray and looked it over. He smiled and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"You better come down here. We found something. We found something nice." he said into it.

Everyone cheered, except for me and Stanley, and Zero of course. We saw a dust cloud moving toward us coming from the cabin. I hadn't seen anyone come or go from that cabin in all my time here. It was a small cabin with two oak trees in front of it. Between the trees was a hammock. As the dust cloud got closer I could make out a car. It was an old car, but obviously well taken care of. It looked like one of the cars out of the movie "Grease". Out of the driver's side came the last thing I expected, a woman. She was tall and thin with red hair. She was wearing worn cowboy boots and a flowered blouse.

"What've we got?" she asked in a quiet voice. Mom handed her the tube. X-Ray was all smiles.

"This where you found it?" she asked nodding to X-Ray's hole.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Well Mr. Pendanski, take X-Ray back to camp. Give him double shower tokens and a snack." she said smiling. X-Ray jumped out of his hole.

"But first, fill everyone's canteens!" she said raising her arms.

"I just did." Mom said.

"Excuse me?"

"I had just filled them when you showed up."

"Excuse me? Did I ask when you last filled them? Did it ever occur to you that these fine people might have taken a drink since you last filled them?"

"They might have."

"Caveman, can I have your canteen please?"

"Sure." Stanley said handing it to her. She took it and got up in Mom's face. She shook the canteen so the water splashed around inside.

"Hear the empty spaces?" she asked. Mom nodded. She shoved the canteen into Mom's chest and told him to fill it. After we had our canteens filled again Mom took X-Ray back to camp.

"_That should be Stanley."_

We were ordered to stop digging and work in teams to dig the dirt twice, with the help of wheelbarrows. I got put to work with Stanley and Zero.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"The warden." Zero informed me. I felt really stupid.


	6. Close Encounters

A/N: This is still part of my apology for being so late with my updates. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!

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We were digging long after everyone else had stopped.

"_How'd she know all our names? I've never seen her."_

Then I heard my thoughts voiced by Stanley. ZigZag told him that she had cameras and microphones all over the place, even in the showers. Without thinking I wrapped my arms around my chest. Stanley fell into stride beside me.

"It's okay. I doubt they're in the showers." he said as he placed his arm over my shoulders. I leaned into him. I didn't care if the whole camp saw us. His touch was so gentle and warm. It was perfect.



The warden was there at breakfast the next morning. She followed us to our holes and stayed with us as we dug. I worked with Stanley and Zero again. By lunchtime the Warden was beginning to get pissed. She made us inhale our lunches so we could get back to work. I choked on my graham cracker. I was coughing and it was hard to breathe.

"Mr. Sir! Black Widow's choking!" I heard Armpit yell.

"Nikki? Nikki are you okay?" Stanley whispered as he kneeled in front of me. His eyes were wide and he looked really worried. This was the first time someone ever worried about me. Suddenly I felt arms wrap around my waist from behind. The pushed upward and into me. The same thing happened two more times. I couldn't cough or breathe anymore. Everything was getting blurry and dark. Once more the arms pushed upward and in, and the cracker came out. I fell forward into Stanley's arms and took deep, fast breaths. Everyone was crowded around me. When I had caught my breath I looked to see who had saved me. Zero was crouching behind me.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Thanks to you." I said.

"Alright! Everyone back to work! Show's over!" the Warden yelled.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." Stanley whispered as he helped me up.

"I'll do my best." I replied.

Stanley kept his eye on me for the rest of the day.



We were finally allowed to stop digging. I went to the tent and got my shower stuff. After that little piece of heaven I went back and collapsed on my cot. It was only a little while before everyone came back. There were a few minutes of noise, and then the dinner bell rang. I got up and walked out with everyone, but I didn't go to dinner. I sat by the side of the tent. I heard Stanley and Zero talking, but I didn't listen. I leaned back on the heavy, rough canvas. I noticed that the talking had stopped. Stanley walked out of the tent, and a couple of minutes later Zero followed. I just sat there, staring at nothing, and everything. I could hear the noise coming from the mess hall, but it sounded distant. I felt as if I was someone else watching a movie, and the movie was my life. I was beginning to get really scared, when Stanley sat down beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked looking at me. I turned my head and looked into his eyes.

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no." I answered.

"Why?"

"I feel like I'm missing something. I feel like I'm missing something important." I said staring at the ground.

"Do you know what it is?"

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, but it's silly."

"I don't care. What is it?"

I looked into his eyes again. I could look into them forever. They were gorgeous and warm, bright and caring. I really believe that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and Stanley's soul looked really good.

"Love. My mom and dad never loved me. The people at the orphanage defiantly didn't love me. No one has ever loved me." I whispered.

Stanley gave me this weird look. It was a cross between pain and joy. Not a very common pair. Then, he grabbed my hand. Well, not grabbed, more like stroked. It doesn't matter what he did, it made me go numb.

"Someone loves you Nikki. Trust me."

I could have died.



We kept digging in groups. After a while all our holes met and we had a giant hole. To tell the truth, I wasn't paying attention when I shoveled the dirt. My mind was miles away in Stanley Land.

"_I didn't know it was possible to feel like this. It's like he's the other half of me. He makes me feel good, like I've got butterflies in my stomach. And I've never smiled this much in my life!"_

"What're you smiling about Black Widow!" the Warden yelled.

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Get back to work!" she barked.

"Yes Ma'am."

Armpit came walking back to us from using a hole, not a very easy task for a girl I might add. The Warden grilled him about where he'd been. He told her that he had to use the bathroom. The Warden jabbed him in the chest with her pitchfork and he fell backward into the hole.

"You're giving them too much water!" she yelled as she stormed off.

Everyone helped Armpit up and made sure he was okay. When we were sure we went back to work. It was mine and Stanley's turn to dig. He was working beside ZigZag when he collapsed.

"Caveman!" I yelled as I dropped my shovel and kneeled beside him. He was bleeding from a huge gash below his ear.

"I ain't digging that dirt. That's his dirt." ZigZag said pointing to a small pile of dirt.

"Shut up Zig!" I said while helping Stanley sit up.

"Hey Mom! Caveman's been hurt." Magnet yelled.

He came over and helped me get him out of the hole. Mr. Sir looked at Stanley's wound then made him a bandage out of his sack of sunflower seeds. He taped it over the gash and told us to get back to work.

"This ain't a girl scout camp!" he said.

Magnet went back to work, but I didn't.

"Are you okay?"

Stanley looked at me and said, "What do you think?"

ZigZag said something about Stanley's dirt covering his again. When Stanley shoveled it up, Zig started digging again.



Later on that night I found Stanley alone in the tent.

"Hey Stanley. How're you feeling?" I asked sitting beside him on his cot.

"Not too bad. My cut stings."

"That's a little more than a cut."

"Oh well. Cut, deep life-threatening wound. It's all the same to me." he said chuckling. I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Are you ticklish?" he asked.

"What? Why?"

"Just wanted to know."

"Well, just keep wondering." I said.

He sat up and said, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

Suddenly he grabbed me around my waist and pushed me down on his cot. He straddled me with his knees on my hands and began to tickle me. I'm VERY ticklish, so I was trying to fight back.

"Uncle! Uncle!" I finally said. I had started to cry from laughing so much. He stopped and his expression changed. The smile faded from his face, and the sparkle in his eye died down. He gently wiped away my tears. He released my hands, but continued to straddle me. He ran his fingers over my lips and then lifted my chin.

He leaned in and whispered, "I've never kissed a girl before."

"I've never kissed a guy."

He was half an inch away from kissing me when we heard the guys coming. He quickly got off of me and I sat up. Just in time too because X-Ray walked in.

"_Damn! They couldn't just wait five minutes!"_


	7. Stars and a Confession

A/N: Yes, I know, I'm horrible. It's been so long since I updated that even I had to go back and read the story to see where I was. It didn't help that my computer crashed, but it's still my fault for not updating. However, there is good news. I've finished the story and am going to upload the rest of it tonight. For some of you that may be bad news, but if you want to find out what happens, it's great news. Okay, this is WAY too long of an author's note. To the story!

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I lay on my cot that night, but sleep was the last thing on my mind.

"_I want Stanley so bad! I've never felt this way about anyone. I'd do anything for him. I love him!"_

My mind suddenly shut down.

"_Oh my God. I actually love him. How lame is it that I didn't even realize it until now? I'm such a loser."_

I rolled over onto my stomach and hid my face in my pillow.



I awoke suddenly when I felt someone put their hand over my mouth. I opened my eyes to see Stanley directly above me.

"Shh. It's just me." he whispered.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"Follow me and find out."

He walked over to the entrance of our tent and motioned for me to follow. I quietly got up and followed him outside. He was standing a few yards away, and looking up at the sky. I walked over to him.

"What's this all about?" I asked.

He looked at me and pointed upward.

"Look for yourself."

I followed his gaze and my breath caught in my throat. Thousands of shooting stars were streaking across the night sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I could only nod; my eyes were glued to the sky.

"How did you know this was happening?"

"I had to go to the bathroom, and I saw it." he answered.

"This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"You're the most amazing thing I've ever seen." he said as he took my hand.

I looked at him and smiled. I squeezed his hand and we watched the meteor shower together.



The next day we were told that we each had to dig our own holes. That was fine by me. I noticed that Stanley was moving more carefully.

"_That cut has to hurt."_

I finished at the same time as Magnet that day, and walked back to camp after spitting in my hole. I was in the tent for fifteen minutes before Stanley walked in.

"Since when do you dig faster than me?"

I shrugged and smiled.

"You want to take a shower?" I asked.

He nodded and we walked there together. I stood under the cold water and let it wash over me. I looked over and saw that Stanley was staring at me.

"What?"

He came out of his trance and blushed.

"Oh, sorry, nothing." was his pathetic response.

We finished our showers and walked back to the tent.

"You want to go to the Rec Room?" I asked.

"You go ahead. I'm gonna stay here and writ a letter to my parents."

"Okay. Must be nice to have someone to write to. Tell them I say hi."

I walked to the Rec Room and was immediately surrounded by the usual noise and chaos. I plopped down on the couch next to ZigZag.

"Hey Black Widow." he said not taking his eyes from the broken screen.

"Hey. What's on?"

"Barney."

"_This kid gets weirder every day."_



Things went normally the next day, until the water truck came to fill our canteens in the afternoon. Magnet, the genius that he is, stole Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds. Everyone passed them around, having a grand old time, until Zig informed us that the truck was coming back. To make things worse, the seeds had spilled all over Stanley's hole.

"_This is bad. This is very bad."_

Mr. Sir got out of the truck and yelled a little, then walked by all our holes. He got to Stanley's and stopped.

"_He's as good as dead."_

They argued, and finally Stanley said that he stole the seeds and ate them all by himself. The both got into the truck and drove towards the Warden's cabin. Everyone went back to work.

"What's wrong with you guys!" I yelled.

"What do you mean?" X-Ray asked.

"You know exactly what I mean. You just let Caveman take all the blame for those damn sunflower seeds!"

"It was his own fault that he got caught." Armpit said.

"No it's Zig's fault. It was his lame excuse for a throw that spilled them." Zero said.

Everyone went silent. Zero talking was strange enough, but for him to talk during an argument, that was unheard of!

"Shut up Zero." Zig said in his own defense.

Zero got up out of his hole and walked over to Stanley's. He started digging. I walked over and helped him. Everyone else just went back to work.



Zero and I finished Stanley's hole, and went back to work on our own holes. It seemed like forever until Stanley came back. He explained that he hadn't squealed on Magnet, and everyone was happy, except me of course. Then he noticed his hole.

"Hey thanks!" he said.

No one said anything. He looked around and noticed that mine and Zero's holes were smaller than everyone else's.

"I should've known. Thanks guys." he said smiling.

"Don't mention it."

He stayed until we were done with our holes, and then we all walked back to camp together.



Later on that night Stanley pulled me out of the Rec Room.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay, about what?"

He looked around, but he obviously wasn't satisfied. He grabbed my hand and led me behind the "library."

"This is better." he whispered.

"_What're you up to Stanley?"_

"You remember the other night? The meteor shower?"

"I'll never forget."

"Good. Well, I was going to tell you then, but I couldn't get the words out. I'm not sure I can get them out now, but I'm gonna try."

"_This is so cute."_

I put my finger over his lips to silence him.

"Stanley, stop. I know." I said as I leaned in and kissed his cheek.

He blushed so bad that I noticed it in the dark.

"See you tomorrow." I said smiling.

He just stood there in shock.



The next morning when we were going through the breakfast line, everyone noticed something terribly wrong with Mr. Sir's face. He looked like a chipmunk who had a nut, a very large nut, stuffed in his purple cheek. It was actually really funny, but no one was laughing. We weren't that dumb.

"Good morning Mr. Sir." I said cheerfully.

"Did I ask you to say anything?" he snapped.

"Geez, all I said was good morning. No need to lose your nut." I said, and after I realized what I said I couldn't help but snicker.

"Go sit!" he yelled.

"_Someone had a bad night."_



It was one of the hottest days on the lake. It was only mid-morning and already sweat was falling off of me in buckets. Finally, the water truck showed up.

"Thank God for water!" I said to no one in particular.

It was Stanley's turn to get water, but Mr. Sir didn't give him any. I couldn't say anything while Mr. Sir filled my canteen. Stanley was sitting on the edge of his hole wiping sweat off his face.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey."

I poured some water in my hand and wiped his face with the cold liquid.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

I picked up his empty canteen and opened it. Carefully, I poured half of my water into it.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"You need water." was my simple answer.

"But so do you." he protested.

"I've got plenty. Besides, when your mouth gets dry, it's a total turn off."

He laughed.

"Thanks Nikki." he whispered.

"No biggie."

For the rest of the day Stanley made sure his mouth wasn't dry.


	8. Runaways and Heartache

A/N: Another chapter, same night. It's a record! This chapter is shorter than the last one, but it's still good. At least I hope it is!

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That night I watched Stanley sleep. I was lost in the sight of him. With every breath he took I fell more and more in love with him. Yeah, I admit it. For the first time in my life I loved someone. To make it even better, he loved me back! Sometimes I think I'm dreaming it all, but it's not a dream. It's real, it's all real.

"_I hope this feeling never goes away."_



If I told you that today was hot, I'd be lying. Today is hellishly hot. The humidity doesn't help either. Every time I breathe in I feel like I'm underwater. I might as well be, every inch of me is soaked in sweat. I'm sweating in places I didn't even know I could sweat. It's times like these that I really hate my waist length brown hair. As I'm tying it up again I glance over at Stanley.

"_Geez, if that boy gets any sexier, it'd have to be illegal!"_

Then I saw ZigZag out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't help but laugh. His hair was even crazier than usual, almost to the point of sticking straight up.

"_Man, I finally have friends, and they're a bunch of crazy juvenile delinquents. I love this place!"_



It was lunch time and Stanley was getting made fun of again for Zero helping him dig his hole. I didn't really care, but we all know how stubborn guys are. They all want to be kings of the world and rule everything and everyone. Their egos will be their downfall. I'd seen the guys say thing to Stanley before, but this time was different. This time they were pushing him and poking him.

"Hey! Cut it out!" I yelled.

"Shut up Black Widow! This doesn't involve you, just your boyfriend!" Zig yelled as he pushed Stanley again.

This time Stanley pushed back. Soon he and Zig were all-out fighting.

"Stop it!" I yelled, but it was useless.

I pushed my way through the guys and pulled ZigZag off of Stanley by his collar.

"I said stop it."

I punched him and he fell to the ground.

"Damn Zig! You got beat by a girl!" Armpit laughed.

I helped Stanley up, just in time to se Zero jump Zig and start choking him.

"_God! Guys are so stupid!"_'

A gunshot went off, and everyone stopped.

"_Oh man, we're in trouble!"_

Next thing I know Zero has picked up a shovel and hit Mom upside the head with it. It happened so fast it took everyone a minute for us to register what happened. Next thing we know Zero is running across the lake.



A couple of days later Brian showed up and was assigned to D-tent. We started calling him Twitch because he, well, couldn't stop twitching. It was really depressing. If Twitch was here, that meant that there was no hope for Zero. It broke my heart to hear Stanley calling for him every night. Call it woman's intuition, but I somehow felt that Zero was alive. Then again, I don't know how he could survive out there. We were one hundred miles from anywhere. Still, somehow I just knew he was okay.



"Stanley?"

It was later in the evening and Stanley was alone in the tent. Everyone else was at dinner. He looked at me, and I could tell he'd been crying.

"He's dead. There's no way he could be alive. It's been two weeks. He doesn't have food or water. He's dead. My best friend is dead, and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

I walked over and kneeled in front of him.

"Don't give up hope. I don't think he's dead."

"How could he be alive Nikki? There's no way." he said as he hung his head.

I reached up and cupped his cheek. He leaned into my touch.

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Zero has more will than any of us here. He's okay. Plus, I believe in miracles. I know he's alive, you just have to know it too."

He looked at me and then suddenly he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I hugged him back.

"Thanks Nikki. I needed to hear that."



We were out on the lake again. The sun was directly overhead, beating down relentlessly. Sweat was pouring off of me.

"These jumpsuits are going to kill me!" I whispered as I unbuttoned it.

"_Thank God for sports bras!"_

As I was digging I noticed that no one else was. I looked up to see all of them staring at me.

"What? Never seen a girl in a sports bra before?" I asked.

They didn't answer, just started digging again.

"_It's been way to long since they've seen a girl."_

My thoughts were interrupted as the water truck pulled up. We moved robotically into our places in line. I didn't even notice that Stanley wasn't in front of me. Suddenly the truck started up, and then it drove away! I was shocked! It crashed in a hole, about half a mile away, and who should stumble out of the driver's side, but Stanley! He took off running, but I couldn't move.

"_I can't believe he just did that!"_



That night in the tent I felt so alone. Stanley and Zero had both run away.

"_They're such idiots! They'll die out there!"_

I looked over at Stanley's empty cot. Quietly I got up and sat down on it. Memories of him flashed through my head, and silent tears began to fall.

"He left me, just like everyone else. He left me, and now he's going to die. There won't even be a body left. Stanley, you're so stupid!" I said to the silence.

I collapsed on his bed sobbing silently. His scent still lingered on the sheets and pillow. They slowly lulled me into a fitful sleep.


	9. Family

A/N: This chapter is somewhat depressing and dramatic, but I still like it. I hope you do too! Review please!

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The next morning no one said anything about me sleeping on Stanley's cot. It was as if they understood how I felt, and it was a good feeling. As we were walking out to the lake X-Ray came up to me.

"It'll be okay Black Widow, you'll see. Caveman and Zero are too stubborn to die that easily."

I looked up at him, our leader. The guy who seemed to be the boss of the camp, was trying to comfort me. How weird is that?

"Why are you all being so nice?" I asked.

By this time all the D-tent guys had gathered around me.

"Because, you're one of us, you're family." Squid said.

"And family watches out for each other." added Armpit.

"We got your back, always." Magnet finished.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys. You've given me what no one else ever has."

"And what's that?" Zig asked.

"A place where I belong, a family."

We all put our arms over everyone else's and walked out to the lake as one big family. A weird one, but a family.



It was noon, the hottest part of the day. I looked up from my hole across the lake. There was nothing. No trees, no bushes, not even a cactus. I felt my heart ache.

"_There's no he could survive out there. Stanley ran off without any water. If he didn't die from dehydration, he'd die from the heat!"_

"There's no hope." I whispered sadly.



That night everyone stayed in the tent with me. I didn't ask why, because I already knew. They didn't want me to be alone.

"Man, today was the hottest day yet! We must be in the middle of summer or something." Armpit said.

"Yeah I know. When I get out of here I'm going to dive into the nearest swimming pool." Magnet added.

"It was so hot, I thought I was going to melt." Squid put in.

"I wonder how the lizards live in this place." Zig stated.

"They're cold blooded. Their temperature is whatever temperature it is outside." X-Ray added.

"How long can you live without water?" I asked.

Everyone stopped.

"I dunno. A couple of days. Probably shorter than that in this heat." X-Ray answered.

"So, Zero's most likely dead, and Caveman's only got a few more days, right?"

"Yeah, probably." Armpit answered.

Everyone was silent for a minute, then I got up and walked out. No one asked me where I was going, and no one followed me. I walked out past the library, towards the Warden's cabin. I slowly walked up the steps and stood in front of her door.

"I must be out of my mind." I whispered as I knocked.



I stood there for a minute or so, and then I heard footsteps. The door slowly opened a little bit.

"Who's there?" the Warden asked.

"Umm, it's me, Black Widow." I answered.

"What do you want?" she spat.

"I need to talk to you."

I thought she was going to slam the door in my face, but she opened it and ushered me inside.

"Make this quick. I'm missing my favorite show." she snarled.

I was seriously having second thoughts about this.

"I need to talk to you about Caveman. If you don't go out looking for him he'll die!"

The Warden's eyes got big and it seemed as if she was looking right through me.

"He ran off on his own free will. That sounds like a death wish to me." she snapped.

I'd had enough.

"Are you for real! How can you say that! He was trying to save Zero! He was trying to help Zero! He doesn't want to die! He was only doing what you never even tried to do!" I yelled.

"Then he's stupid! Zero was dead long before his little stunt!" she yelled back.

"It's because you killed him! You killed Zero! You didn't go look for him, you're having the water supplies guarded, you got rid of any record that he was ever here! He didn't just die, you killed him! Now you're condemning Stanley to the same fate! But he's not like Zero, he's got family! What're you gonna tell them at the end of his sentence? Are you going to tell them that he went off and killed himself? You'll be sued! You'll lose everything!"

We looked at each other for a minute. Hatred for her burned in my eyes, and she could see it.

"Get out of my house." she whispered icily.

"I wouldn't stay here another minute!" I said slamming the door.

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The days flew by, and soon it was two weeks after Stanley had run off. I lost all hope of him being alive. Soon I lost all feeling what-so-ever. Everything I did, I did it mechanically. I hardly ever spoke, and when I did what I said was short and emotionless. No one tried to comfort me, they knew it was no use. I spent my days sitting in silence while life was going on around me. I wasn't part of that world anymore. My world had fallen apart the moment I accepted that Stanley was dead. I wasn't really living, nor was I dead. I simply existed, refusing to let go. I couldn't sleep, nor could I eat. I was haunted by memories of him and visions of his face. Maybe this is what you would call insanity, or depression, it doesn't matter to me. I was a lifeless shell, utterly and completely lost.

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Soon I had to give in to my body's needs. I began to sleep again for short periods of time, and my appetite grew to almost normal again. I could tell that everyone was worried about me, but I could do nothing about it. I could no more control their feelings than I could bring Stanley back from the dead. For lack of a better phrase, I was trapped between a rock and a hard place. The rock being the real world where my family was worried about me, and the hard place being Stanley's irreversible death. Life can really suck sometimes.

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I was walking out on the lake with the sun on my back. It was another hellishly hot day, and it was making the lake hazy. Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to the thing on the ground and almost fainted. It was Stanley! He was lying face down in the dirt and not moving.

"Stanley? Stanley get up!" I asked frantically.

I carefully turned him over.

"Stanley? Stanley wake up? Stanley? Can you hear me?" I asked even more frantically.

"Nikki?" he whispered.

"Oh thank God!" I cried.

He looked at me and put his and on my cheek.

"Nikki, I'm sorry. I have to go now."

"No! Don't leave me! You can't leave me here alone!" I cried, tears running down my face.

"I'll never leave you Nikki. The ones who love us, never really leave us. I'll always be in your heart." he whispered.

"But I need you in my arms. I need you were I can see you and talk to you. I need you Stanley. I can't make it without you."

He smiled weakly.

"Yes you can. I know you can. I have to go now, but you'll be okay. Goodbye Nikki."

"No! Stanley!" I yelled grabbing his hand.

Right before my eyes his body turned into dust and was carried away by the wind.

"Stanley!"

I shot up like a rocket. My heart was pounding and I was breathing really fast. I was relieved to find it still dark out and me still in the tent.

"You can't be dead. You just can't be. You wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." I whispered.

Something told me right then that I was right. I had a feeling that Stanley was alive. My heart felt it.


	10. Surprises

A/N: Well, it's coming to a close. The end will come soon, and I promise you, it's good. However, for right now, please enjoy the TENTH chapter! I always get excited about double digits! Enjoy!

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I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. I was too overjoyed.

"_He's alive! I know it! I shouldn't have ever doubted it. I know he's alive, and Zero's with him. I can feel it!"_

The hours flew by, and soon I heard the bell ringing, telling it was time to dig. Everyone slowly got up and got dressed. I was done first and out the door. I was first in line at the "library," and I was even there before Mr. Sir was.

"Well, this is new. You've never been first in line. Glad to see some life back in you Nikki." Mom said.

"My name's Black Widow. I don't know anyone named Nikki." I said mockingly.

"Yep, she's back all right, and spunky as ever." Mr. Sir said opening the "library."

I grabbed a shovel and looked out at the lake.

"_You're out there somewhere."_



It was after lunch and all the guys were taking a break.

"What's wrong guys? Too tired to keep digging?" I asked as I threw my shovelful of dirt aside.

"No, we just need to take a break, that's all." Squid said.

"What's gotten back into you Black Widow? As happy as I am that you're back among the living, I'm curious to know the reason." X-Ray stated.

Everyone looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. I've spent so much of my life trying to disappear, and now I can really be me. I don't want to disappear anymore. I want to live, so I'm back to living. Plus, Caveman and Zero are alive. Don't ask me how I know, I just do." I added quickly.

"What? They can't be alive. It's been weeks. What makes you think they're alive?" Zig asked.

"I just have this feeling that they are. I know it sounds weird, but it's true."

"Yeah, it does sound weird. Like something out of a sci-fi movie weird." Magnet said.

Everyone started laughing and I couldn't help but join in. It felt good to laugh again.



A couple more weeks went by and I was back to my old self. I was laughing, talking, and making fun of the counselors like all the other campers. Even though Stanley wasn't there, I knew he was okay. That was the thing that really brought me back and allowed me to live again.

It was just another day out on the lake, but I was excited. I have no idea why, but I was. I looked up and thought I saw something move out on the lake, and it was big. I brushed it off thinking that it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

"_Damn heat! It's messing with my head!"_

I took a long drink of water, and then went back to digging. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that something was out on the lake, and it was getting closer to camp.



I fell into bed that night. I didn't mean to, but I fell straight asleep. I was in such a deep sleep that I didn't even hear the wake up bell. Instead I woke up to Twitch shaking me.

"Time to go Black Widow." he said.

"Alright, I'm up. Be out there in a second."

Everyone left the tent and soon I heard Mom's voice, but instead of his usual "Good morning!" he was telling us to go to the Rec Room and to be quiet.

"If you're good you won't have to dig today." he yelled as he ran back out to the lake.

"What? What's going on?" I asked walking outside.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it beats digging." Squid answered.

Everyone sleepily walked into the Rec Room and sat down somewhere. I took a seat on the worn out couch next to Twitch.

"Why do you think we don't have to dig today?" he asked.

"I dunno. Maybe a whole bunch of lizards have hatched out on the lake and they're all over the place." I answered.

"Oh man, I'd like to see that!" Zig said.

"You wouldn't see it for long. You'd be dead within ten minutes." Armpit told him.

We all laughed. I didn't know what was going on, but Squid was right. It beat digging.



I never realized how long a day at Camp Green Lake could be. When you're digging you have something to do, something to work towards. When you're just sitting there doing nothing, it's like a day is an eternity. It was late morning or early afternoon. I couldn't really tell which. All of a sudden we heard cars driving up. This was a big deal. No cars ever drove out to Camp Green Lake, except for the bus that brought in new campers. Everyone ran outside to see who it was. There were two cars. Out of one came a short Hispanic woman dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase. Out of the other came a tall white man also in a business suit, but wearing a cowboy hat. They walked right past all of us and out onto the lake.

"Who are they and where are they going?" I asked.

"I dunno." X-Ray answered.

It soon became apparent that we weren't going to get any answers, so we filed back inside the Rec Room and out of the sun. It was another hour or so until I heard people yelling and walking back toward camp. Two voices I didn't recognize but the other three I did. Mr. Sir, the Warden, and Mom were arguing with the two other voices. Suddenly Armpit came running into the Rec Room with a stunned look on his face.

"It's Caveman and Zero! They're back!" he yelled.


	11. Reunions and a New Beginning

A/N: Well, this is it. This is the last chapter. I want to thank all of you guys who read my fic, and a special thanks to those of you who reviewed it. Without further ado, the final chapter!

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I jumped up.

"They're here?" I asked.

I didn't even wait for him to finish nodding before I was out the door. I stopped on a dime and all the guys ran into me. One glimpse of him and I couldn't move. It'd been so long, and I missed him so much that I was afraid I was dreaming again.

"St…..Stanley? Stanley!" I yelled.

He turned around and smiled as soon as he saw me. I slowly took a step toward him and he did the same. I started walking, then jogging, then running to him. He was running to me too, and we collided into each other. My arms went around his neck and his went around my waist. He lifted me up and spun me around before he put me down again.

"Is it really you?" I whispered.

"Yeah, it's really me Nikki." he said pulling me to him again.

"I missed you so much." he whispered.

"I missed you too. I thought you were dead."

"I'm sorry I ran off, and I'm sorry I made you worry." he said looking into my eyes.

"It's alright. You're here now." I said hugging him close again.

I was so caught up in being with Stanley again that I didn't pay attention to what was going on. When we finally decided to tune into the real world again we saw that Mom, the Warden, and Mr. Sir were all under arrest. The Hispanic woman was putting a small trunk into her car.

"Stanley, lets go!" she called.

"What? You can't leave me again!" I gasped.

"Don't worry. I'm not going without you or Zero."

"Stanley! Come on!" she called again.

"I'm not going without Hector and Nikki."

"Hector?" I asked.

"That's Zero's real name."

"Oh." I whispered.

"_Well, that makes since. His real name wouldn't be Zero."_

Suddenly we all heard a lout crash. Shortly after that I felt rain drops on my arms.

"It's…….raining?" I whispered.

"It's never rained before." Stanley said just as surprised as me.

It began to pour and all the campers ran out to get soaked in the miraculous rain. All of D-tent surrounded us, and I realized that I was still in his arms.

"Good to have you two back." X-Ray said nodding toward Stanley and Hector.

"Yeah well, it's good to be back, but there is one more thing I have to do." Stanley said smiling.

I looked up at him confused.

"What's that?" I asked

"This."

He leaned down and kissed me. I was shocked, but I soon got over it.

"_His lips are exactly how I imagined them."_

All the guys started cheering, but I didn't really notice. Stanley lifted me up and pulled me closer to him. When we finally had to break for air I couldn't help but smile. I was soaking wet and surrounded by my family, and Stanley had finally kissed me.

"That was…….woah." I said.

He laughed. He brought me to him in another hug and whispered so only I could hear, "I love you Nikki."

I leaned up and kissed him again.

"Good."

Armpit put his arm around Stanley and shook his head.

"How am I supposed to top this?"

We all started laughing.

"Stanley, Hector, Nikki, lets go!" the woman yelled at us from insider her car.

"I guess we've got to go." I said.

"Don't worry Black Widow. We're family, you can't get rid of us that easily." X-Ray said.

I laughed.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Stanley, Hector, and I got into the car and waved at everybody. We didn't stop waving until Camp Green Lake was out of sight, until it was just a memory.

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A couple of months later I was living with Stanley and his family in their new house. Once his mom found out that I was an orphan she insisted that I stay with them. Hector was living with his mom next door and was doing just fine. The trunk I had seen in the woman's car at the camp was full of jewels and money that belonged to Stanley's family, but they split it with Hector. We wouldn't ever be poor again. The D-tent guys got off early and were living in the same city with us. We get together every weekend. Looking back I can see just how much my life has changed. The best thing that I ever did was get arrested that day. If I hadn't I would never have met Stanley, or any of the guys. I wouldn't have a family or a home. Life is screwy like that sometimes. Isn't it great!


End file.
